


Boundaries

by gardenAgnostic



Category: overwatch
Genre: F/M, Strike team is mentioned, but who cares at this point, timeline might be oof
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-22
Updated: 2017-09-22
Packaged: 2019-01-03 22:25:58
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 809
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12156042
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gardenAgnostic/pseuds/gardenAgnostic
Summary: Jesse finds a stray dog in an alleyway somewhere in Rio de Janeiro. After being fed by Jesse and Genji, the puppy doesn't leave them alone and they happily take the stray to the Overwatch Base.





	Boundaries

**Author's Note:**

> Do forgive me if some things are off! This was for a request I got on Tumblr— I did change a few things that had been suggested but I loved the idea far too much. Thank you and comments are always appreciated!

Slinger is a dog that had been brought to the base by Jesse after a mission somewhere in Rio de Janeiro. He was a stray puppy, crying out loud after Jesse and Genji were done with a mission nearby.  
" _Genji begged me to take 'im, Boss_ ," Jesse had said then, the puppy happily licking the mentioned cyborg's now bare face. Genji had taken his visor off for the simple privilege of being licked. " _Please, believe us when we say we won't screw this up_."  
The commander had been reluctant at first, but let the boys keep him. Jesse, on all his happiness, dragged Genji along with the dog to Angela's dorm, to share the news.  
They had decided to name the dog Slinger under Jesse's request (which were more like _pleas_ ) because he was the one to find him.  
Angela was the one to convince Commander Morrison and Amari to let the dog stay in the base.  
" _I'll make sure he goes through training so he's not entirely useless, Commander_." She had said, the puppy calmly nibbling her hand, _"He can be a police dog. He can track down the bad guys. Or, even better, he can be a therapy dog. Or both_." The doctor then went on a rant on how having an animal in the base would make soldiers happy and more relaxed, because dogs were therapeutic for simply existing. When Jack tried speaking against it, Angela shushed him by stating that he'd be denying the comfort of his soldiers, so he simply sighed and let it. All that was needed to convince Ana Amari was telling her how happy Fareeha would be to have a dog for a companion when coming to visit.  
And so the good news were spread. The dog was quickly adopted and kept in the base, walking sometimes with Genji outside. It made the cyborg feel somehow more comfortable. Slinger was a great hunter, and Gabriel said he was because of his breed. Slinger was a Labrador Retriever, _perhaps mixed with a Pointer,_ the vet had told them. His fur was a beautiful black, that made all wonder how he had ended up in the streets in the first place.  
He was always happy to come back to Angela if he left on missions. Somehow, she was the one who took care of him the most. When Jesse left and Slinger stayed, he'd sleep by her side and ease some of her worry.  
Slinger loved her and much as he loved the Strike team, Genji, and, most specially, Jesse. Anyone could tell he became sad when Genji left without saying goodbye, and even sadder when Jesse too left him and Angela stranded with nearly nothing to hang on to.  
He made Angela company when she had nightmares about them, about the strike team, about their deaths. He tried to ease some of her sadness by bringing her gifts and doing the best work he could.  
He made children at the hospital she worked on laugh, and the shine on Angela's eyes and glimmer on her lips as she smiled gently at both children and dog was priceless, every time. Because it made her happy— to see the usually sad children laugh and enjoy some of the joys life had to offer. It was proof they were never really gone.

Slinger was always incredibly excited to take Angela's mail to her, because sometimes they'd bring familiar scents, and her see her laugh and cry from happiness and relief every time. The doctor could see he took joy and pride from bringing her them, and as a reward he'd always have a treat, soft thank you's and you're such a good boy, are you not's? That made the dog bark and wiggle his tail as excitedly as ever.

The dog was seven by the time Jesse first visited Angela. It's remembered by the couple and the dog himself how he had growled at the door, at the sight of such an unusual silhouette in the middle of a Sunday, which alerted Angela, who, after 48 hours awake in the hospital, was obliged to go back home to rest, was alerted and ran towards the door with a kitchen knife as defense.  
It is also remembered how he jumped and whined when he finally made out that hidden scent of a man he met so long ago, but would never forget, because it was right there, in the back of his mind. Kept forever.  
Angela had cried and hugged Jesse so tightly that day that the gunslinger lost his breath, had slapped him so hard across his cheek that he almost wished he could go back in time and kiss her before that.  
But he did kiss her after that, his cheek aching and hot but his longing and happiness minimizing the pain to nothing.


End file.
